Maximizing the value of each medicine

Because antisense therapies can treat the rarest of diseases as well as those that affect millions of people, we pursue the optimal development and commercialization path to maximize the success of each medicine and deliver it most efficiently to patients. In some cases, we form strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical companies. We also create affiliate companies that are responsible for the commercialization of some of our medicines. Akcea is the first of our commercial affiliates.

Akcea Therapeutics, Inc.

Akcea is a biopharmaceutical company we established to focus on developing and commercializing drugs to treat patients with serious and rare diseases. Akcea is advancing a mature pipeline of six novel drugs, licensed from us, including TEGSEDI™ (inotersen), WAYLIVRA®(volanesorsen), AKCEA-APO(a)-LRx, AKCEA-ANGPTL3-LRx, AKCEA-APOCIII-LRx and AKCEA-TTR-LRx, with the potential to treat multiple diseases. All drugs were discovered by Ionis and are based on Ionis’ proprietary antisense technology.

First Generation Chemistry chosen – Antisense oligonucleotides with phosphorothioate (PS) substitutions are more stable and able to distribute broadly throughout the body, making selected RNase H1 based antisense as a key mechanism

The Field of Antisense Oligoneucleotides is born - Antisense RNA is first used to inhibit protein
production

1989

First Generation Chemistry chosen – Antisense oligonucleotides with phosphorothioate (PS) substitutions are more stable and able to distribute broadly throughout the body, making selected RNase H1 based antisense as a key mechanism

Pioneering a more efficient way to treat disease

Fred and Lynne’s story

Fred and Lynne have been married for 40+ years. When talking about Fred’s illness, Lynne often looks back to when she said, “I do,” and thinks about how she had no idea at the time what “in sickness and in health” would really mean.